Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] On this episode of Cox Talking Gamecocks, the football team hits the road. Big news from the AP poll and I give my six pack of picks. Okay, here we go.
[00:00:54] Okay.
[00:00:55] Welcome to episode 340 of Cox Talking Gamecocks. I am your host, Tim Cox, where I will keep every episode from 1801 to 2001. And is everybody alright? Everyone have a decent week out there? I don't know, man. Work kicked my ass. The Gamecocks have kicked my ass. Like, it's been a tough week and here we are ready for the weekend. Hopefully gonna have some things to cheer about. Whether it be our own team, six pack of picks, I don't know. But it has really been an interesting week being part of this fan base and I'm going to talk a lot about it here, but we're just going to jump into this thing. Like, it's just been a tough week where, you know, the vibes have just been down. You know, that game Saturday was really tough and I think to lose that streak and to suffer our first loss and to be staring at changing these expectations of what this season could be, I think has done a number on us. And you know, we looked at season predictions and all these season takes and things like that, and I don't think really any of them had us sitting at 2 and 1 with, you know, and if you did, like, you just were like, we're not going to be questioning our offense and things like that. And, you know, you have a little bit of uncertainty about Lenores playing this Saturday. There's just not good vibes around and really trying to shake it off as we get into this weekend because we wait so long for this time of year and because of that we care so much about the results of these things, but it's still about the friends and memories we make along the way. At least that's what I've been telling myself to get through this week. But let's look at a this past week in review from around Carolina athletics before we get into more football talk here.
[00:03:01] Monday you had women's Volleyball beat Wofford 3 to 1. Good win there. Tuesday, men's soccer lost to North Florida to nothing. There's North Florida again. Y' all remember last year that school just gave us headaches in multiple sports. Just crazy. And then women's golf finished fifth in the Stevens Cup.
[00:03:23] But that's it from the scores to review from this week. So shifting the focus back to football here. Got a few things to talk about before we get into the game. Preview Here. So a couple of news here. First, the Gamecocks are no longer ranked in the AP poll. I'm sure you know this by now, dropping from 11 out of of the 25 after losing to what was then an unranked Vanderbilt. I mean look like I've had less and less faith in the AP poll. Like it's really fun when you are ranked.
[00:04:01] I don't know, I, I, I see both sides of the argument. You know, you got manhandled frankly by an unranked team, but an unranked team that you know, had a good year last year, a lot of returning talent and you know, they're a good team. It's not like you lost to, you know, Georgia Southern, respectfully, you know, but so yeah, you're not there anymore. At the other hand I think it's a little harsh to go from, you know, you have freaking Notre Dame sitting there who hasn't won a game and it's because they're Notre dame like. But 11th ranked South Carolina who lost their quarterback in the game isn't ranked like sure, whatever.
[00:04:41] You know, hopefully we make it up down the line and then the game time for the Kentucky game. So next Saturday when the Gamecocks come back home, we'll be under the lights yet again. 7:45 kickoff. So another Gamecocks after dark here at Willie B. Kind of fun there, but this Saturday where all eyes are the Gamecocks are on the road for the first real true road test of the year because it had been a neutral site after as the team takes on the 23rd ranked Missouri Tigers. 7:00 Eastern I believe Columbia, Missouri is in Central time but for the almighty Mayors cup which has been back in the correct Columbia for the last year after the thrilling win last year. So we'll got a little trophy game for us here. The Gamecocks are currently sitting at nine and a half point underdogs. That line has actually shifted a little bit towards Carolina.
[00:05:37] I think we opened at 12 or maybe even 13 point underdogs. So things have moved in our favor. Never a bad thing. Injury report so this is from the last update that I've seen. So this very much could change by the time you're listening to this. Certainly by kickoff. But right now I have doubtful Michael Smith and Judge Collier and then questionable Maze O. Bennett and Lenora Sellers. So obviously all eyes and ears are looking for any update around Lenoris. I don't think we're going to find out until game time. I truly don't. If you remember Correctly last year in this matchup, Brady Cook, the Missouri quarterback, star quarterback, was a little banged up going into the game and I think he was listed as doubtful for the entire week and then took the field, looked healthy as ever and had himself a pretty good game. So I don't think there's a secret that Beamer and Drink have a little bit of a rivalry themselves. So I would really expect Shane Beamer to play this one close to the vest. I don't think he's going to be moving Lenoris off that injury list. You know, a little bit of gamesmanship there, but it's a big one. You know, like, you need Lenoris going into this one to feel semblance of confidence. I know that sounds harsh, but it's the truth.
[00:07:05] You know, I said last week going into that matchup against Vandy that it's, it's where the rubber meets the road, right? Because you're getting into SEC play. It's really where you see what you're made out of. The games are going to be unforgiving this point forward and it didn't go our way and it, the score ended what it was. It was a tough night.
[00:07:28] Now it's gut check time and it's seeing not just what you're made of, but like, what is your resolve in this moment. Okay, you had a really disappointing showing last weekend.
[00:07:42] This team knows that they're the first team in 16 years to lose to Vandy. This team knows that that loss can change some of these things that they've talked about.
[00:07:54] So now you're going on the road at night against a team that has given you fits in the past that you know very well your underdogs. People aren't just not this weird narrative that like, oh, like they could be on upset alert type of deal. Like now people are saying you're not going to go to Mizzou and get it done. Like, what are you going to do? Because now is the time for this team to figure out where do we stack up?
[00:08:26] Okay, like, call it what it is. Like, in my opinion, like, Vandy could turn out to be pretty good this year, right?
[00:08:36] Mizzou could turn out to be pretty good this year. I don't think either of them are competing for the top of the sec.
[00:08:42] I don't think either of them are destined to make these deep playoff runs. So if you're trying to compare yourself towards some of these teams and you're trying to have a program and a team that's trending towards being towards the Top right.
[00:08:59] Well, what do you do against these type of teams? You just got bushwhacked by Vanderbilt and you know, I'm going to try to stop harping on that. But you did under, under duress, without QB1 and things like that. But there's still self inflicted wounds in that game.
[00:09:18] Are you able to go on the road as an underdog and compete with this team?
[00:09:28] So if, if, if the Gamecocks go up to Como and it goes south bad, I'm raising all kinds of alarms.
[00:09:39] You're hitting the panic button, you're throwing up the red flags.
[00:09:43] Something is wrong and I don't know what that would be.
[00:09:48] If you go up to Como and you win, well, all of a sudden everything is back on the table. Right. Which would be insane. It'd be so fun.
[00:09:59] And I think we have the team to do it, you know, if they execute correctly for four quarters. If you go up there and it's a close game, all right. And people are gonna say there's no such thing as moral victories and things like that. Sure, I can, I can agree with that.
[00:10:15] But if you go up to Como and you're in a close one and you, and, and, and let's just say just, it just doesn't go your way, you can sit there and say, okay, maybe things aren't as bad as we may have thought.
[00:10:30] Vandy was a weird game.
[00:10:32] Let's replicate that effort and execution that almost had us upset, a nine and a half point favorite.
[00:10:39] Let's do, let's beat Kentucky, take a bye week and come out strong. So that's what I'm saying, like it's gut check time. What are you made out of?
[00:10:50] Right. And I think that's also part of why the vibes are off this week just because of what that score was against Vandy.
[00:10:56] So some, some notes on Mizzou here. What are the Gamecocks looking at in the Missouri Tigers? Mizzou is 3, 0 on the year. Their most impressive win, really their only win against the Power 5 team was against Kansas. They pulled away late in that game. They've backfilled really well whether it was recruiting, but really their use of the portal after losing mainstays of their program, guys like Brady Cook, Luther Burden, etc. They have a good running back. The transfer quarterback they brought in, I think they brought in two. But Prabula, he's been playing well. They're a team that, as much as it pains me to say they are well coached, especially on offense and they just execute their Systems very well. They don't beat themselves a lot.
[00:11:45] And y' all know my stance on Mizzou. They are the top of the list of the most annoying teams. It's not a team that I hate like a Tennessee Clemson, but they are the most annoying team that we play regularly. So with all that being said, what are my crows to the game here? So overall for the team, match them physically.
[00:12:09] There were times where I don't think we did that against Vanderbilt and there were times I don't think we did that against Virginia Tech.
[00:12:17] So you have to be able to go in here against a bonafide SEC opponent and match them physically, especially in the lines of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.
[00:12:29] On defense. My first crow to the game here. Be disciplined in your assignments. I think this is the first crow to the game. I've been saying this for the last five years now when we play Missouri.
[00:12:41] Mizzou's outside run scheme and everything they do on offense is designed to get guys off their spots and open up cuts for their running backs.
[00:12:52] If the defensive line and linebackers especially are sound in their assignments and they're sound in their eye discipline and they do their jobs, you can plug those holes and slow them down. It's an offense that is predicated on making one guy miss and then they can break a big run and their running back has been doing that so far for three games. So be very disciplined in your assignments.
[00:13:18] Second crow on defense. Disrupt Prabula. Okay, shocker. Disrupt the quarterback. But he's, he's really hit the ground running this guy has at Mizzou. But you know, he's not played an SEC defense. I don't know the first thing about the Kansas defense. I don't, you know, I don't know if they're good or not, frankly. But bottom line is he, he's still inexperienced and if we can disrupt his timing, I think he can make a mistake that will cost them.
[00:13:47] My third crow to the game, fittingly get off the field on third down. This killed us against Vanderbilt and it hurt us against Virginia Tech too, frankly.
[00:13:59] So I don't know if that's because you don't have as explosive of a D line as you, as you did last year. But you have to find a way to eliminate these long, drawn out drives. So I mean, and honestly, like especially early in the game, I know it's about four quarter game, but you just, you can't be, you know, ground down early in the game, in my opinion, like get the offense Chances early and often to find that rhythm. Which brings me to my first crow of the game for the offense.
[00:14:36] Be consistent, okay? Be consistent. Like show up for four quarters. I know that that feels like something like a foreign concept right now, but we've seen these spurts. I've talked about it. That, like when the team has needed to score. They have. Or when they opened things up against Vanderbilt and Virginia Tech, things have looked good.
[00:14:58] Find that throughout the game.
[00:15:01] You know, I have a lot of takes about the offense here, but I don't think it's necessarily like a drastic change of scheme or anything that a lot of people are trying to say. But I just think that Shula hasn't been able to find the play that gets the spark.
[00:15:20] Like Dalla Loggins was not a perfect play caller. He was not a perfect oc.
[00:15:25] There were times where those offenses would stall out plenty and go cold. But. But he knew a player too and when to call it to get the rhythm back. And right now we haven't seen Shula do that. It's almost like he's just like, all right, this is the game plan. We're going to stick to it even if it doesn't work. So he needs to be dynamic in that regard.
[00:15:46] My second crow, which I don't know, but because it might sound a little contradictory here, but establish the run. Okay. For as much has been made about Lenoris and him running or not running, etc.
[00:15:59] He hasn't gotten much help from the actual running backs on a consistent basis. Okay. Like, we need to continue to see Sewell play well. He looked good, especially early in that Vanderbilt game. You need to get contributions from the other backs because that should open things up elsewhere. It opens up the play action, it opens up the read option, it opens up the rpo. All these things if you know you can attack them well.
[00:16:28] So. And that's tough to watch, right? It's easy to say establish the run. It's easy to say, oh, they're going to be stubborn in the run.
[00:16:37] Sometimes that sucks because you're getting two yards here, three yards there and you get frustrated and you then you. Then you blame play calling. But you do have to be stubborn here because I do think that has been part of the problem.
[00:16:53] There is no Rocket Sanders back there who can just bully his way to 6 or 7 yards. These are different backs.
[00:17:01] And Sewell, you started to see it a little bit in that Vanderbilt game. Get him going. I wouldn't mind seeing these other guys, Fuller, Howell, you know, find someone who can bring that boom.
[00:17:13] Third crow get the ball out quickly, obviously in these passing situations here. But Lenores, you know, I think his internal clock right now is a little messed up. And we can talk about coaching and how you can fix that and why it's like that and to begin with, but his internal clock has been messed up. He's holding on the ball for too long and then he ends up running for his life. The O line protection hasn't been up to snuff.
[00:17:39] So while he's a good scrambler, that's just not a recipe for success.
[00:17:45] So I'd love to see a few wide receiver screens, running back screens, things like that, like get our skill players in space with blockers. So that way, A, the passing game is less predictable, but B, you get Lenoris in that rhythm and you see a couple go through the hoop, right? And then maybe guys creep up a little bit and it opens up a deep shot for Vandravius or Nick Harbour, whoever it may be.
[00:18:15] And then my fourth crow to the game is protect Lenoras. Like goes without saying, if he is able to play in this game, he's coming off of what I suspect to be a light concussion.
[00:18:28] You got to protect him, right? And the game changed when he got out last, last week last year against lsu. The game changed when he got injured. Like he is your star player. Protect him.
[00:18:41] So, you know, overall for the game here, like I said, it's a gut check game and you're going to have to figure some things out like defensively, you know, while they kept the game within reach for about three quarters last week, like their effort and Clayton White said as much like wasn't up to their standard. So okay, you got a new unique challenge. But guess what? You've played this team, you know, their style for a few years now.
[00:19:11] How do you prepare? How do these linebackers who haven't maybe played this system yet, seen that, you know, do we see improvement from maybe a guy like a Norwood, right?
[00:19:24] Do we see Brian Thomas continue to come on? Dylan Stewart has been electric this year, but he's been struggling with some of these non holding calls and things like that. Like can the guys come together to contain this running game and then make life difficult for the quarterback offensively?
[00:19:42] Need that rhythm. Like this is I think like the make or break week for the offense as we know it. Like we'll see how it goes, but like it's put up or shut up time. Like no more of this. Like they're gelling and everything like that. Like If. If this is an. If. If Lenores is full go, you need to be able to find a way to attack this defense. They're a good defense.
[00:20:06] They have disruptors at every level, but they have good D line. But they've given up a lot of points.
[00:20:14] They gave up, I think, 31 to Kansas.
[00:20:17] You need to be able to respond to this team and take the fight to them because they can strike you. We've seen that last year. We've seen it in these games.
[00:20:28] You know, like, this matchup has tended to be competitive.
[00:20:33] And so if it trends that way, then maybe, just maybe your star quarterback can do something for you at the end of the game and make something happen.
[00:20:43] But you have to get there first.
[00:20:46] You know, I've done these previews with y', all, and it's been, you know, kind of under the assumption that we're going to roll to a degree, right, that you're gonna have production. And then, okay, here's where we're at at the end of the game, like right now, it's no, like, find that production in the first quarter, find some more in the second, keep it up in the third, and then elevate and close in the fourth.
[00:21:11] So let's see where we're at. You know, this is a gut check game. It's a litmus test. Litmus test game to let us know what the makeup of this team is and, you know, our level of whatever you want, our level of concern maybe moving forward or, you know, we'll see how it goes. But it really would be the most South Carolina thing to do, go and win this game. So you do have that in the back of your mind.
[00:21:38] All right, let me give you all my six pack of picks. I'll get y' all out of here. ACC, give me. SMU versus TCU. Horned Frogs minus six and a half.
[00:21:47] NC State versus Duke. Under 56.5.
[00:21:51] Big 12.
[00:21:53] This could be the game of the day. Texas Tech plus 3 versus Utah.
[00:21:58] Big 10. Purdue versus Notre Dame. I'm going big here. Notre Dame minus 25.5. They have to win at some point and Purdue stinks. SEC, Florida versus Miami. Going over 50 and a half here and then group of five. Wyoming versus Colorado. Over 44 and a half before we wrap up here. Y' all probably have seen the news here, but please say a prayer, Keep positive thoughts, whatever it is that you do for Connor Shaw and his family. He, you know, it's been reported he suffered a medical incident, seems to be in stable condition, but that is someone who means a lot to the Gamecock community in more than one way.
[00:22:37] All right. But with that, y', all, that wraps up this episode. Please follow me on social media, Twitter, or X is Cox Gamecocks. Instagram is just the name of the show. Cox Talking Gamecocks. And please, like, subscribe and review the podcast. I appreciate all y'. All. Go Cox.
